Japanese Sauces

Japanese sauces are very simple sauces, compared to, for instance, the complexity of French sauces.

Any cooking for Japanese sauces is generally just a brief, light simmer on the stove to reduce the liquid, and while a sauce may be an assembly of other sauces, those other sauces are all obtained commercially off the shelf. This compares favourably to classic French sauces, which can often require you to prepare two or three other sauces before starting on the sauce you need to make.

While fish sauces are popular throughout Asia, and fish itself is popular in Japan, most Japanese sauces draw on either grains (rice or wheat) or beans (soy beans in particular) as their foundational elements. One example of a fish sauce is Nitsume Sauce, based on eel.

Sauces are rarely poured on at the table. Instead, at the table, they are used for dipping food into. Dipping sauces include Tentsuyu, ponzu and even a simple, straight-up side dish of soy sauce.

Nutrition

Japanese sauces can be salty. The salt content of soy sauce and miso is 14 percent to 18 percent. Note that both, along with actual salt itself, are staple ingredients in Japanese sauces. This can be reduced by using low-sodium soy sauces.